Review of Like Dandelion Dust (2009) by Jesse B — 01 Apr 2012

I am quickly coming to the conclusion that I am a helpless, cynical old fart who want nothing more than to watch the world go down in flames on celluloid and is disturbingly discontent when this does not take place. The case in point -- Like Dandelion Dust. This is a film about two sets of people; one rich, happy, affluent and incredibly boring family -- and the other imperfect working-class folks who are trying to get their lives to reach some facsimile of what normal may be perceived as.

Rip and Wendy are husband and wife. They love each other very much, but Rip has a problem: he's an alcoholic which has a way of leading him to sudden bouts of violence which, in turn leads to a seven year stretch in the local prison. Wendy, like the dutiful wife she is, is right there to greet him on the other side of his release date. And will miracles never cease, the system actually seemed to work for Rip. He comes out a changed man. He's kept away from the drink and is truly reformed -- really. I'm not even being a little snarky. It works for him. And perhaps that is our first step into the wonderful world of fantasy.

So anyway, to make a long story short, Rip wants to start anew. He wants the family which has, thus far eluded him. He son, he thinks would be very good indeed and so he brings it up to Wendy. Wendy's repsonse: Gee, Rip, I wish you would have told me seven years ago. You see, she had become pregnant with Rip's child before doing his stretch in the clink. Only problem is that she couldn't take care of the baby so she gave him up for adoption. And thus we have we are introduced to the boring rich people who take up the bulk of the story. I would get into the rich white characters personalities, that is if they had any. But unfortunately for me, they didn't. They're just white and rich. I guess that's all you need in a movie these days.

So the drama of the story comes from Rip's continuing wish for a family of his own and his all consuming desire for his son's return. A loophole is found in the official nature of the adoption papers which render the release of the child null and void. This leads to a long and tedious (and ultimately failed) legal battle between the somewhat interesting white-trash-ish Ohioh family and the boring rich, white people. Thing is, both couples honest and deeply love the little boy and think that they are the best thing for him.

I don't know what it is with me. Maybe I've just gotten to old in mind and spirit to appreciate the old emotional sucker-punch movies which go for the balls every time out. Where the actors are never allowed a take without a teary eye or a whimper in the mouth. Sometimes I don't want tidy, happy endings, or plot points you can see coming from a million miles away. Is it too much to ask for a little imagination? I'm not saying that it was a horrible movie. I've seen much, much worse. But I know that there is so much better out there, or at least the possibility of bettering the kind of family drama tripe that is so prevalent in this day. Have the guts to have a horrifically downer ending, you know.

I was so incredibly disappointed with the ending of this movie. It could have gone so differently and so imaginatively. The poor people had basically won the child by default, but the boring rich-white people didn't want to give them up so they flee the country with their son. Now, Rip had been dealt a real blow to his person and made a mistake. He picked up the bottle once again and in the process hurt his wife once again. If reported, this pretty much would land him back into prison and obliterate their chances of winning custody of the boy, although at that point they had already pretty much sealed the deal. So, anyway, the boring rich-white people are in Hatti with the son which is no longer legally theirs in an almost completely successful attempt at fleeing the country. But the issue is that the authorities find them out and they are extradited back to the States.

So at this point my imagination is working double time, thinking how they could end this. I ultimately opt for the ending where no one gets the child (both set of parents go to prison) and the boy tragically ends up as another statistic as property of the state and goes from foster home to foster home. That was just wishful thinking on my part. No, it had a happy ending. Of course, it had to have a happy ending. It's a movie made by an American, released by an American distribution company. Nobody's willing to work it here. No one is willing to go that extra mile. We've all got to be tucked into bed by the powers that be.

Perhaps I'm right. Perhaps I'm just too bazaar or my own good. Perhaps I should just give into the fairytale endings we're being fed. I don't know. I just know there is so much that can be done and when imagination is traded in for packages wrapped in nice red bows... it bugs me a little.